WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Central Missouri Mules used a stifling defense to hold first place Lindenwood 31 points below their season and to just 34 percent shooting in a 54-41 win at the UCM Multipurpose Building on Wednesday night. The win snaps a two-game losing skid for the Mules and improves their record to 10-5 overall and 4-5 in MIAA play.
The Mules opened the game on a 5-0 run to grab the early lead. The lead was 8-4 at the 15:57 mark as both teams struggled offensively. UCM led 10-7 when LJ McIntosh drained a three to tie the game at the 8:57 mark.
Brad Woodson responded with a three of his own to put UCM back in front, but McIntosh hit another trey and Zachary Biggs scored on a layup to give the Lions (11-5, 7-3 MIAA) their only lead of the night.
Spencer Reaves scored on a jumper to tie the game at 15, but both teams went over three minutes without scoring. Reaves drained a three-pointer at the 3:34 mark to put UCM back in front for good and it sparked a 16-0 run that gave the Mules a 29-15 halftime advantage. Reaves scored 10 of the 16 points and
Isiah Sykes drained a three before the halftime buzzer to end the opening period on a high note.
Tereke Eckwood scored four straight points out of halftime and the Mules led 33-15 with 18:11 to play in the game. A quick 5-0 run pulled the Lions to within 13 with 15:40 to play in the game, but a layup from Woodson and another Reaves three-pointer pushed the lead back to 16. The lead was again cut to 13 at 38-25, but a 9-3 spurt over a six minute span gave the Mules a 19-point lead, 47-28, with 6:19 to play in the game and the Mules were never threatened the rest of the way.
Reaves led UCM with a game-high 20 points and also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
D'Marnier Cunningham dished out six assists with just one turnover to go along with seven points. Woodson also finished with seven points for the Mules.
The Mules shot 34 percent in the game, 18-of-52, and made 8-of-22 three-point attempts for 36 percent. UCM was 10-of-12 at the foul line for 83 percent. They had nine assists on 18 made baskets and committed just six turnovers. UCM had 10 steals while forcing 16 Lindenwood turnovers.
Lindenwood came in to the game averaging 72.3 points per game and Cory Arentsen was the league's fourth leading scorer at 22.3 points per game. He finished with just one point in the ball game and LWU was held 31 points below the season average. As a unit, the Lions were 16-of-46 from the field for 34 percent. They made just 3-of-14 three-point attempts for 21 percent and were 50 percent at the charity stripe, 6-of-12.
Chandler Diekvoss led the Lions with nine points, while McIntosh had eight. Stanislas Heili finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
The Mules are back in action on Saturday afternoon hosting Lincoln at 3:30 p.m. at the Multi. The game can be heard live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler on the call.
